One Week Down…

Just over twelve hours until Event #2 of the WSOP ($1500 NLHE) begins, and I’m not sure if I’m gonna play. It’s been a hell of a wild ride, my first eight days in Vegas. Thank you to Jefferson and Uncle Stu for wondering if I had given up and driven to Mexico. I didn’t give up, we just had a minor internet crisis here on the homefront.

Who knew that drop-dead gorgeous roommates could also possess problem solving skills? NR#1 had to go out of town for a couple of weeks and she locked the door to her room before leaving. It’s her condo, so naturally all the major internet appliances like the modem and the wireless router live in her room. I think it was the wee hours of Wednesday morning when all of our computers stopped communicating with router. Happens all the time, all you have to do is reset the router. But when it’s behind a locked door…

Our resident goddess suggested we find the breaker box instead of attempting to pick the lock and all would be well in the world. We searched high and low, thought it might behind one of the many mirrors or pictures on the wall, or perhaps in the laundry room, or kitty closet. No such luck. I finally did the unthinkable, and sent NR#1 a txt, explaining the situation. Wasn’t long before she revealed the secret location of the breaker box, lieterally, “Behind the Asian Scroll in the Girls’ Room.”

Odd, but that’s where it was. We flipped some switches, the router was reset, and alas, we again have internet.

After I get this post out, I’ma wander over to the Rio and mayhap register for this weekend’s $1500 lottery ticket. In case you haven’t heard, Jeffrey Pollack [BLOG] made an announcement today that all bracelet winners, past/present/future, will be upgraded to Harrah’s Diamond Club Status. If you make it out to the casinos more than once / month, you may be familiar with how nice it is to get the perks like free rooms and whatnot. Great PR move on Harrah‘s part, also reminds me of a story I heard the other day at the $5/$10 NL table.

A player lost an all-in pot to a player on my left. A purple $500 chip was shipped in the process. Upon receiving the pot and the chip, the player next to him gave a chuckle and told us why $500 chips always make him smile. Not just because they’re worth $500, but many moons ago, he and his wife were on a Vegas Vacation at the Bellagio. She knew almost nothing about gambling, but he gave her a purple to go have some fun. She thought it was the only thing she was allowed to bet, didn’t know she could break it up into many many other chips of a smaller denomination and have a grand old time at the nickel slots or $10 BJ tables.

So the story goes, she walked right up to the Roulette wheel, placed the chip on 17.

And of course, she hit. Not only did she hit for 35:1 on $500, she proceeded to demolish the wheel and other remnants of the casino for well over $120K profit on the day. The guy said that ever since then, he always gets a free stay at the B, all because his wife had no idea what she was doing.